My style of eating is to gorge on foods when they are in season, and then enjoy them to a limited degree as a canned food off season. There are lots of benefits to eating this way: I eat really fresh food, my dollars stay local and don’t support fossil fuel-greedy off-season imports, and by the time the season rolls around I am really excited to eat fresh… whatever again.

Now that the asparagus are in we are eating them all the time: broiled with minced garlic and oil, steamed with chopped hard cooked egg, sautéed and tossed with pasta and shellfish, or with an egg poached on top…all recipes that take advantage of the tender upper half of the asparagus, but all leaving behind a solid three inches of stringy stems that we don’t eat.

In the past I’ve made broth with the stems and held it in the fridge, but it tends to ferment rather quickly. So this year I decided to make asparagus broth with those stems and pressure can it, to have on hand to add to soups or make risotto any time of the year. It’s super easy, and can be done in stages. You’ll need a food mill, however.

Pressure canned asparagus broth

Canned Asparagus Broth
You can make this broth with the whole asparagus if you like, or a combination of steams and whole.
Makes 2 pints

1 lb asparagus, chopped into 3 inch pieces
Water to cover

Place the asparagus in a pot and cover with water.

About 1 quart of water covers 1 lb of asparagus

Bring the asparagus to a low boil over a medium heat, cover and gently boil until the asparagus are very, very tender, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool.

Pass the asparagus and the cooking water through a food mill. You will get about 1 quart of broth, ½ (or less) asparagus pulp and ½ (or more) of green water. This is a slightly tedious job. You can refrigerate the broth at this point—it will hold for a 2 to 3 days.

Have ready 2 clean pint jars and bands, and 2 new lids that have been simmered in warm water to soften the rubberized flange. Pour the broth into the pint jars, leaving about ½ inch headroom. Wipe the rims, place on the lids and screw on the bands fingertip tight. (Don’t crank the bands super tight: air needs to escape during processing.)

Place about 3 fingers worth of water in the bottom of your pressure canner.

You need to add about 3 inches--or 3 fingers worth of water in the bottom of the canner to create the steam

Place the jars on the rack. Align the cover handles so they are locked into position as per the instructions for your pressure canner. Remove the pressure regulator from the steam vent. Heat the canner over a high heat. Allow steam to be released from the vent for 7 to 10 minutes, and then put the pressure regulator over the steam vent. Watch the pressure regulator. When it is about to reach 10 pounds of pressure, lower the heat slightly so that once it reaches 10 pounds, it stays there. Check periodically to ensure the pressure stays at 10 pounds. Usually, once you’ve got the heat right, the pressure will become stable. If you are a little over, it’s okay. Just don’t go under 10 pounds. If the pressure dips under 10 pounds you can’t count those minutes against the 30 minutes you must process the asparagus. First bring the canner back up to pressure by increasing the heat, and then continue timing. Process the jars at 10 pounds of pressure for 30 minutes. For altitudes over 1,000 feet use 15 pounds of pressure and process for the same amount of time.

Turn off the heat and allow the pressure to drop naturally. When the canner is depressurized (this will be evident as per the instructions for your specific pressure canner) remove the gauge, then remove the top away from you (there may be some hot steam still trapped inside). Remove the jars and allow them to rest for at least 6 hours. The water and pulp of the asparagus broth may separate. It’s okay.

Check the seals and store in a cool dry place for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.

Next time, asparagus risotto and I don’t know…asparagus something else.

Eugenia Bone, a veteran food writer who has published in many national magazines and newspapers, is also a cookbook author. She is the author of Well-Preserved (Clarkson Potter 2009). She has contributed to many cookbooks and a few literary journals, been nominated for a variety of food writing awards and participated in radio, interactive and online interviews, in addition to appearing multiple times on television. She lives in New York City and Crawford, Colo.

The secret to tasty food is homemade and seasonal. To do that, you've got to put up food. Well-Preserved reports on small batch preservation year round, and generates recipes from those preserved foods.